Enchiladas are a favorite dish in my house, but they can be time-consuming to make and assemble, especially if you’re cooking everything from scratch. That’s why I absolutely love my creamy White Chicken Enchiladas Casserole recipe!
It’s a flavor-packed one-pan alternative, allowing you to still enjoy the rich and spicy flavors of a traditional Mexican Enchilada dish, but in a fraction of the time and with minimal mess!
Serve it as is or over some freshly made rice, cauliflower rice, or pasta! The family will be begging for seconds! For more chicken lick’n midweek meals, check out my Hearty Chicken Cacciatore, Instant Pot Teriyaki Chicken or Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas.
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🍗 Ingredients:
- Salted butter – you can choose unsalted too, just add in salt if needed
- Onions – Yellow or white onions
- Garlic – minced
- Flour – all purpose, to thicken the sauce
- Cumin – ground cumin adds that warm earthy spice to the enchiladas
- Chicken bouillon – powder or cubes
- Black pepper (to taste)
- Chicken breast – boneless, skinless
- Anaheim or Hatch chiles – or 7 ounce can diced green chiles, drained
- Canola oil – (not needed if using canned chiles)
- Fresh cilantro – plus more for garnish
- Cream cheese and Sour Cream – richens up the creamy white sauce
- Monterey Jack cheese – freshly grated
- White corn tortillas – cut into bite sized pieces
- Cayenne pepper (to taste)
For a full list of ingredients and their measurements, 📋 please view my printable recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Substitutions and Variations
- I have also tried these with stone ground yellow corn tortillas and even flour tortillas, both are great
- Save time: Use pre-cooked shredded chicken or shredded rotisserie chicken instead.
- Bulk it up: Add some drained black beans or corn to the skillet to make this meal go further. Top with some delicious slices of avocado or guacamole upon serving!
- Less spice: Omit the cayenne pepper and chilies from the list of ingredients. You could substitute chilies for sliced or chopped bell peppers.
- More spice: Add chili powder and/or sliced jalapenos to the skillet while cooking the onion with garlic.
- Thinner creamy sauce: Substitute milk or cream for the cream cheese called for in this recipe. You could even use plain greek yogurt instead.
- Substitute cheeses: While this recipe calls for Jack cheese, feel free to use various Mexican cheeses, cheddar cheese or a Mexican cheese blend.
🔪 Instructions:
Step 1: In a large skillet, heat butter over medium until melted. Then, add onions and garlic and sauté until onions are softened and beginning to brown.
Step 2: Add flour, cumin, bouillon, and a pinch of black pepper and cook 2-3 minutes longer to brown the flour mixture.
Step 3: Stir the water (or chicken broth) into the flour mixture, cooking over medium heat until the sauce begins to thicken slightly and becomes bubbly.
Step 4: Next, add chicken breasts into the skillet, reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer until chicken is cooked through (about 15 minutes or until chicken’s internal temperature registers 165°F on a meat thermometer).
Step 5: Meanwhile, rub whole green chilies with canola oil and place on a foil lined baking sheet under the oven broiler. Broil about 10 minutes, turning halfway through until the skins are well charred.
Step 6: Allow chiles to cool enough to handle, then gently remove the soft chile flesh from the skin and discard the skin, stem, and most of the seeds. Dice chiles into small pieces.
Step 7: Once the chicken in the skillet has cooked through, shred into bite-sized pieces.
Step 8: Add chiles, ¼ cup cilantro, cream cheese, sour cream, and 1 ½ cups of the jack cheese into the skillet of chicken mixture and stir until smooth.
Step 9: Add cut up soft tortillas to the cream sauce in the skillet, cooking over medium heat until mixture is bubbly and evenly combined.
Step 10: Sprinkle remaining cheese and a pinch of cayenne pepper over the top of the skillet mixture and place under the broiler to cook for about 5 minutes or until the top is bubbly golden brown.
Step 11: Garnish with more cilantro, green onions, and sliced avocado. Serve hot.
GARNISH/SLICE/SERVE: Serve White Chicken Enchilada Skillet warm out of the oven with Mexican rice, refried beans, or a garden salad.
Recipe Tips for Chicken Enchilada Casserole White Sauce:
- If you opt to add jalapeno to this dish for an extra kick of heat, just make sure that you wear some latex gloves while handling them and avoid touching your face.
- If you’d like to skip the broiling step, simply sprinkle the cheese over the top of the skillet ingredients and place the lid back on, allowing the cheese to melt.
- Serve your White Chicken Enchilada Skillet over some fluffy white or brown rice, Cilantro lime rice, or pasta, or serve as is! It can even be enjoyed with tortilla chips.
Recipe FAQs
Store leftovers in an airtight container, or covered in plastic wrap, for up to 5 days in the refrigerator. It makes fantastic leftovers! Eat as is or wrap it in a tortilla.
Yes, you can. You can store leftovers in the freezer in an airtight container once cooled. Or, make an extra batch and store that in the freezer for up to 3 months as convenient anytime freezer meals. To reheat, thaw overnight in the refrigerator and heat up gently on the stovetop.
Chicken Enchilada Skillet is a flavor-packed one-pan alternative to traditional enchiladas. It allows you to still enjoy the rich and spicy flavors of a traditional Mexican Enchilada dish, but in a fraction of the time and with minimal mess! Add your favorite toppings and enjoy!
OTHER MEXICAN-INSPIRED MEAL IDEAS
If you tried this White Chicken Enchilada Casserole Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how you liked it in the 📝 comments below.
White Chicken Enchilada Casserole
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons salted butter
- ½ cup diced yellow onions
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon
- 1 teaspoon Black pepper to taste
- 2 cups water
- 1.5-2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast
- 3 Anaheim or Hatch chiles or 7 ounce can diced green chiles, drained
- 2 teaspoons canola oil not needed if using canned chiles
- ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro plus more for garnish
- 4 ounces cream cheese
- ½ cup sour cream
- 3 cups grated jack cheese divided
- 10 white corn tortillas cut into bite sized pieces
- 1 teaspoon Cayenne pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a large skillet, heat butter over medium until melted. Add onions and garlic and saute until onions are softened and beginning to brown.
- Add flour, cumin, bouillon, and a pinch of black pepper and cook 1-2 minutes longer to brown the flour mixture.
- Stir the water into the flour mixture, cooking over medium heat until the sauce begins to thicken slightly and becomes bubbly.
- Add chicken breasts into the skillet, reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer until chicken is cooked through (about 15 minutes or until chicken’s internal temperature registers 165°F on a meat thermometer).
- Meanwhile, rub whole chiles with canola oil and place on a foil lined baking sheet under the oven broiler. Broil about 10 minutes, turning halfway through until the skins are well charred.
- Allow chiles to cool enough to handle. Gently remove the soft chile flesh from the skin and discard the skin, stem, and most of the seeds. Dice chiles into small pieces.
- Once the chicken in the skillet has cooked through, shred into bite-sized pieces.
- Add chiles, ¼ cup cilantro, cream cheese, sour cream, and 1 ½ cups of the jack cheese into the skillet and stir until smooth.
- Add corn tortilla pieces to the skillet, cooking over medium heat until mixture is bubbly and evenly combined.
- Sprinkle remaining cheese and a pinch of cayenne pepper over the top of the skillet mixture and place under the broiler to cook for about 5 minutes or until the top is bubbly golden brown.
- Garnish with more cilantro and sliced avocado. Serve hot.
- Storage:
- Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Notes
- Use milk or cream in place of the cream cheese for a slightly less rich sauce.
- Add jalapeno to the skillet with the onions and garlic for some extra spice.
- If you don’t want to broil the skillet dish at the end, you can simply sprinkle the cheese over the top and put the lid back on, allowing the cheese to melt.
Nutrition
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Comments & Reviews
June Janek says
Will be making this soon. Yummy..love cheese of any kind. Mexican or Italian.